Setup RAID 1 on MACPRO

[mujurip]

Hi,
I just got a brand new MAC PRO desktop. It came with a 600GB HDD. I purchased a second identical internal 600GB HDD.

I wanted to do setup a RAID 1 using these 2 drives. Currently the main drive has the OS and all my other apps installed. I installed the 2nd drive and was fooling with disk utility. I'm not sure how to set this up however.

I tried numerous guides online but I just cant figure it out.

I guess for starts, is this even possible w/ what I have on hand?

MAC PRO (takes up to 4 internal drives) - currently installed 2 identical drives
Leopard
Using Disk utility

The RAID tab says "online" and the status is green (indicating the RAID is working). However on my desktop i see the 2nd hardddrive mounted with no contents in it. I just want to able to use the 2nd drive as a mirror so this way if one fails I'm still up and running.

Any input would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[Cynicalone]

Here are the steps for Software RAID from Apple.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2559

If you are doing it with the Apple RAID card it is a bit different...

[mujurip]

Thanks.. I visited that page and infact followed the below instructions:

Setting up a RAID array in Mac OS X is part of the installation process. This procedure assumes that you have already installed Mac OS 10.1 and the hard drive subsystem (two hard drives and a PCI controller card, for example) that RAID will be implemented on. Follow these steps:

1. Open Disk Utility (/Applications/Utilities).
2. When the disks appear in the pane on the left, select the disks you wish to be in the array and drag them to the disk panel.
3. Choose Stripe or Mirror from the RAID Scheme pop-up menu.
4. Name the RAID set.
5. Choose a volume format. The size of the array will be automatically determined based on what you selected.
6. Click Create.

I was unable to select 2 disks. I was only able to select 1 disk and drag it to the RAID box. Perhaps this needs to be done with the OSX installation page (boot using the leopard CD?)

Also, do you need to have a RAID card? Doesnt the MAC PRO have a built in RAID controller?

[Cynicalone]

Thanks.. I visited that page and infact followed the below instructions:

Setting up a RAID array in Mac OS X is part of the installation process. This procedure assumes that you have already installed Mac OS 10.1 and the hard drive subsystem (two hard drives and a PCI controller card, for example) that RAID will be implemented on. Follow these steps:

1. Open Disk Utility (/Applications/Utilities).
2. When the disks appear in the pane on the left, select the disks you wish to be in the array and drag them to the disk panel.
3. Choose Stripe or Mirror from the RAID Scheme pop-up menu.
4. Name the RAID set.
5. Choose a volume format. The size of the array will be automatically determined based on what you selected.
6. Click Create.

I was unable to select 2 disks. I was only able to select 1 disk and drag it to the RAID box. Perhaps this needs to be done with the OSX installation page (boot using the leopard CD?)

Also, do you need to have a RAID card? Doesnt the MAC PRO have a built in RAID controller?

The Mac Pro doesn't have a built in RAID card, but OS X can do software RAID.

Okay dumb question time... Did you format the new HDD and give it a GUID partition Map? Also format it for OS X Extended (Journaled). If you've already done that forgive me for pointing out the obvious.

[Tesselator]

You don't need to boot from CD or have a card for RAID levels 1 or 0.
You do not need to format it first either. Disk Utility will do this for you
automatically when you create or "enable" the RAID.


Insert drives,
Turn on your mac,
Open Disk Utility,
Select one of the drives of the RAID set,
Drag the other drive into the list box,
Name the Raid,
Click Options and set the appropriate values,
Click create or enable as the case me be,
Done.


I guess step #5 is what's throwing you?

Here are the steps shown when you click Help in the Disk Utility App:

To create a mirrored RAID set:

Select one of the disks that you want in the set, and then click RAID.
Click Add (+), and type a name for the RAID set.
Choose a format from the Volume Format pop-up menu, and then choose Mirrored RAID Set from the RAID Type pop-up menu.
Drag the disks you want to use in the set to the list on the right.
For each disk, select it and choose its type from the RAID Type pop-up menu.
To use the disk as a mirror at all times, choose RAID Slice.
To use the disk as a mirror only when another disk fails, choose Spare. A disk can be a spare in only one RAID set.
If a disk in the set fails and you have no spares, you must add a new disk to the RAID set in Disk Utility to return to the original number of disks.
To rebuild reconnected or spare disks automatically, click the Options button, select RAID Mirror AutoRebuild, and click OK.
If you don’t choose to rebuild disks automatically, you must rebuild it yourself in Disk Utility.
Click Create.



--
PS: RAID0 is better! ;)

[panzer06]

snip

--
PS: RAID0 is better!

Faster, yes... better ... not so much as you will lose all data if a single disk fails.

Cheers,

[Tesselator]

Faster, yes... better ... not so much as you will lose all data if a single disk fails.

Cheers,

Not if you have a back up. And you have to back up a RAID 1 anyway... so in reality... there's no difference - unless the data between backups is crucial to you.

[mujurip]

I really appreciate the comments guy. I'll give this a shot and report back!

[Cynicalone]

You do not need to format it first either. Disk Utility will do this for you automatically when you create or "enable" the RAID.

Sorry about that. I wasn't sure about software RAID. :o

I use the god awful Apple RAID card in the 09 Pro. It is possibly the slowest RAID card I have ever seen.

[LethalWolfe]

If you do the software RAID though the RAID lives and dies by the OS.


Lethal

[mujurip]

"If you do the software RAID though the RAID lives and dies by the OS."

wow wow, so if my OS crashes i lose the RAID??

I have the raid card aswell but how do i interface it to the cards? I removed it because the hard drives connect straight to the motherboard hence not letting me connecting the SATA cables from the addon RAID card to the harddrives. I noticed this and figured that the motherboard has a built in RAID controller and went ahead and removed the card.

Can someone verify the above?

[Cynicalone]

If you have/had the Apple RAID card this is what you need to do...

EDIT: There is nothing you have to do with the Apple RAID card you just leave it installed in the top PCI slot. It is Apple Simple, but damn slow.

[Loa]

I wanted to do setup a RAID 1 using these 2 drives.

Hello,

Can I ask why you'd want a RAID1 in you MP?

Loa

[mujurip]

I had a rocketRAID card..it didnt come w/ the computer tho. I bought it separate assuming I'll require it. However when i popped it in i couldn't connect the SATA drives to the RAID card cuz you guys know how the interface is. The harddrives go directly into the board

[nanofrog]

"If you do the software RAID though the RAID lives and dies by the OS."

wow wow, so if my OS crashes i lose the RAID??
You can take drives set up under an OS and transfer them to another system for example. The problem is with what you're doing, if the OS goes, it's stored on the drives you're concerned about. :eek: So data loss is very likely.

Depending on what goes wrong, you may be able to recover. However, as Tesselator mentioned, any drive needs a backup solution. It's easier than trying to use software utils, etc. to recover data on your own, possibly faster, and certianly cheaper. :D The software isn't less expensive than a disk for backup, and is way cheaper than having to use a data recovery service.

If you need 24/7 availability of the system, then RAID 1 makes sense. Even in RAID 1, if you lose data, it's not going to cover you. For example, if you accidentally delete a file (say via some secure erase means), it's gone. An action taken is performed on both disks. Hence you still need a backup. :D

Otherwise, implement RAID 0 for performance, and keep a proper backup. That way, you get the speed improvement, and if something should ever go wrong, you're data is safe. ;) Afterall, a backup drive doesn't have to be the fastest, or even equal capacity of the array. Just large enough to hold the data sent to it. ;) So cheap works fine for this purpose, as they aren't constantly accessed, and speed isn't the primary concern. :)

I have the raid card aswell but how do i interface it to the cards? I removed it because the hard drives connect straight to the motherboard hence not letting me connecting the SATA cables from the addon RAID card to the harddrives. I noticed this and figured that the motherboard has a built in RAID controller and went ahead and removed the card.
The built in RAID is software based, not dedicated hardware. That is, the OS has the functionality in it, and uses the system resources to operate it.

For hardware implementations, you do need a separate card. This is more difficult in the '09's, but not impossible.

1. Get the proper cabling (iPass = MiniSAS*4i = SFF-8087 to SATA*4i), unless the card you have actually uses SATA connectors on the card. Some still exist. :eek: :p

Then install the drives in the optical bay(s), possibly relocating the optical drive to an external enclosure.

2. There's a device made by Maxconnect that allows you to use the HDD bays with a 3rd party card. Not cheap though ($165USD). You also lose the SATA ports on the board, unless you manage to fit RT angle SATA cables to the data section. Again, you'd have to make space for any drives, and the ODD bays are the easiest. ;)

3. Go external. Worst case, there's cables that take internal ports to external ports. You do have to find some hole to run it/them out of, and the PCIe bracket area is the easiest. Unless you don't mind cutting holes in the case. :eek: :p

[Tesselator]

"If you do the software RAID though the RAID lives and dies by the OS."

wow wow, so if my OS crashes i lose the RAID??

Well only in the same regard that you would lose everything. No OS means no RAM, no CPUs, no Drives, etc. :D


What I think Lethal was getting at is if Apple pulls a change-up on you or you decide to move your drives to a Linux box, there may be some compatibility issues. But that's going to be true with hardware RAID too.

Apple's software RAID is very fast and system friendly. Just set up the RAID like you were thinking and don't worry about it - would be my advice. Unless you're dealing with HIGHLY sensitive data or something. :p